Lincoln Park neighborhood split over proposal for new school

Some contend wealth, clout are pushing community's needs to the head of the class

October 31, 2013|By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah | Tribune reporter

Opponents of a proposed expansion of Lincoln Elementary School confer with a Chicago Board of Education official, right, before a board meeting in September. They are, from left, Michelle Villegas, Benjamin Kadish, Pavandeep Sethi and Caroline Vickrey. (Chris Walker, Chicago Tribune)

In the affluent Lincoln Park neighborhood, an overcrowded elementary school has divided residents over whether the problem merits construction of a new building.

Lincoln Elementary School is almost 200 students above capacity, and a group of parents as well as the local alderman are pushing for a new building for the school's middle school students at a cost of as much as $50 million.

But there are 49 neighborhood schools in the city that face more severe overcrowding, and another group of residents is questioning the fairness of a new building in a neighborhood that boasts an enviable number of quality schools. They argue that a new school would be the result of wealth and political clout more than real need.

Supporters make no apologies for pushing for a new building.

"We have a real overcrowding issue here. Others have it too. I support their drive to get more capital dollars. I wish I had that money, but that doesn't mean I will stop advocating for my community and my kids both today and in the future," said Jerry Quandt, a Local School Council member who supports the addition.

The dispute has led to nasty exchanges on Facebook, awkward social situations and secret meetings arranged by residents who fear retribution if their allegiances become known.

"It's become very acrimonious," said Caroline Vickrey, a former Local School Council member who opposes a new building. "The tension is there, every day."

There is no concrete plan from Chicago Public Schools to add a building for Lincoln Elementary, and no funding has been designated for construction.

But several factors have pushed the issue to the front of the neighborhood's agenda. Chief among them, predictably enough in a neighborhood with sky-high property values, is real estate. The site of the former Children's Memorial Hospital is just down the street from the elementary school, awaiting redevelopment.

The Orchard Street location, still occupied by the old hospital, is perfect for an expansion for Lincoln, supporters say, and Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, said any redevelopment plans will remain on hold until a solution can be found for Lincoln's space needs.

A vocal group of parents have coalesced as We Are Lincoln Elementary, or WALE, and say they have gathered 1,300 signatures on petitions supporting a new facility. Since 2011 they have been pushing for state and city politicians to secure money for a new building near the elementary school at 615 W. Kemper Place.

Their hopes have been buoyed by a string of new school construction projects announced earlier this school term by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. They have no qualms about pushing for an additional building even though schools in less-favored neighborhoods have worse crowding problems.

Parents and residents who have organized to oppose a new middle school building say the crowding problem could be solved by redrawing school boundary lines, allowing new students to fill unoccupied seats in neighborhood schools like nearby Alcott Elementary, and shifting more seats in local magnet schools to children from the community through changes in the lottery system.

This group says Lincoln Elementary should remain a small school and that supporters of the addition are primarily residents who live south of Armitage Avenue and don't want to be pushed out of the school's boundaries, which could affect their property values because Lincoln is such a good school.

Those residents also argue that supporters of a new building are using the wealth and political clout of Lincoln Park to leapfrog past schools in less affluent neighborhoods that face far more significant overcrowding problems.

There are 808 kindergarten through eighth-grade students enrolled at Lincoln Elementary, well beyond its capacity of 630. The situation is serious enough that Chicago Public Schools this year is paying $200,000 to lease space at DePaul University for extra classrooms.

That puts Lincoln Elementary 50th on the list of overcrowded neighborhood schools, according to the district's 10-year facilities master plan. Given that, opponents say the push for a middle school addition is indicative of the special treatment their neighbors in Lincoln Park have come to expect.

"How could the 50th most crowded school get a brand-new, state-of-the-art middle school, jumping over 49 more crowded schools in CPS, when many of the more crowded communities have far fewer good options than Lincoln?" asked Michelle Villegas, who lives across from the school and opposes a new building.

"Because Lincoln Elementary School is located in prosperous Lincoln Park, as are the connected, wealthy friends of Mayor Emanuel and Ald. Michele Smith," she said, answering her own question.